News - Armenia decision to ratify Rome Statute is incorrect act, Peskov says

Russia considers the people of Armenia as brothers, but Moscow has questions regarding the leadership of that country, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian president, told reporters, according to TASS. This is how he interpreted Armenia's decision Tuesday to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. "Armenia is a friendly country, our partner. And, of course, we have many things in common with the fraternal Armenian people. And we have no doubt that they will unite forever. But at the same time, of course, we will have additional questions for the current leadership of Armenia; they were previously passed on to the Armenian side," said the Kremlin representative. The Kremlin considers Armenia's ratification of the Rome Statute an incorrect act from the point of view of bilateral relations, Peskov noted. "We [i.e. Russia] doubt, and have doubted from the beginning, that Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is correct from the point of view of bilateral relations. We continue to believe that it is a wrong decision," said Dmitry Peskov. As reported earlier, the National Assembly of Armenia today approved the ratification of the Rome Statute. The parliamentary opposition, however, boycotted the respective debates, arguing that the Rome Statute does not serve Armenia's foreign policy interests. And Artsvik Minasyan, secretary of the opposition Armenia Faction, added that its ratification runs counter to the constitution of Armenia.